Republican Mitt Romney accepted the GOP presidential nomination Thursday at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. We air an excerpt of Romney’s speech and get reaction from two guests: Craig Unger, author of the new book, "Boss Rove: Inside Karl Rove’s Secret Kingdom of Power," and Arun Gupta, an independent journalist reporting from the convention. [includes rush transcript]

Earlier this week at the Republican National Convention, author Craig Unger directly confronted the subject of his most recent book: Republican political strategist Karl Rove. The book, "Boss Rove: Inside Karl Rove’s Secret Kingdom of Power," tracks Rove’s reinvention to become the most powerful political operative in America. Unger asked Rove about his role in the GOP primaries, prompting an angry reaction that saw Rove...

When Mitt Romney walked down the aisle toward the stage Thursday night, among the people whose hands he shook was the conservative billionaire and major political donor David Koch. But it was a moment missed by the tens of millions of viewers at home. While Democracy Now! was there on the floor and captured the handshake on video, the networks cut away just before the handshake to show footage of two enthusiastic young women supporters and...

One unusual speech at the closing night of the Republican National Convention Thursday generated so much attention that it nearly threatened to overshadow Romney’s acceptance of the presidential nomination. The actor Clint Eastwood, known for his character Dirty Harry and his famous line, "Go ahead, make my day," gave a rambling, 11-minute address that appeared to be completely unscripted. During the speech, the 82-year-old...

The Republican National Convention took place in Florida, where the state’s so-called "Stand Your Ground" law has come under sharp criticism following the shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin by self-appointed neighborhood watchman, George Zimmerman, earlier this year. The shooting incident has emboldened some supporters of Stand Your Ground. On the convention floor, Amy Goodman spoke with one of the law’s...

Earlier this week at the Republican National Convention, two attendees were removed for a derogatory incident targeting an African-American camerawoman, Patricia Carroll, with the news network CNN. According to witnesses, the attendees threw nuts at the woman and shouted, "This is how we feed the animals!" Amy Goodman returns to the scene of the incident on the floor of the convention and discusses it with Tom Powers, a delegate from...

In a major ruling Thursday, a federal court blocked a controversial Texas law that would require voters to show photo identification before casting ballots. The court said the law could curtail the ability of hundreds of thousands of minorities to vote. It cited evidence that showed the law did the most harm to African Americans and Hispanics, who are more likely to live in poverty. Texas says it plans to appeal the decision to the Supreme...

When conservative billionaire David Koch sat down as a member of the New York delegation Thursday night on the floor of the Republican National Convention, Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman attempted to ask him one question: "Mr. Koch, do you think unchecked concentration of wealth will undermine democracy?" While Koch started to answer, the delegates and security around him stood up, one by one, creating a human wall between them. One...

When Democracy Now! senior producer Mike Burke attempted to interview billionaire casino magnate and Republican donor Sheldon Adelson inside the Republican National Convention, a woman identified as Adelson’s daughter grabbed our video camera, tried to take it into a private suite and then threw the camera to the ground. While Adelson’s daughter first accused Burke of hitting her, she later came out of the suite to apologize. The...

The new Republican platform has adopted Mitt Romney’s call for the so-called self-deportation of undocumented immigrants. Democracy Now! senior producer Mike Burke talks immigration reform with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa during a stop at the Republican National Convention. Villaraigosa is the chair of next week’s Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. We also hear from Mario Lopez, president of the Hispanic...